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The Government today (October 6) announced the appointment of two additional chairmen and nine additional members to the Fishermen Claims Appeal Board (Trawl Ban) (FCAB).
Arising from the implementation of the trawl ban, the FCAB was established in November 2012 to process appeals regarding an ex-gratia allowance (EGA) for affected trawler owners and a one-off grant for local deckhands employed by affected inshore trawler owners.
A total of 858 appeal applications have been received. Given the number of appeal applications received, the Government has expanded the FCAB to a pool of five chairmen and 20 members. Since September 2014, the FCAB has conducted hearings for 30 cases.
A Government spokesman said, "In order to expedite case management and ensure that appeal cases can be completed within a reasonable time frame, we see merits for further expanding the FCAB, which allows us to further increase the number and frequency of hearings."
The two additional chairmen are Mr Tommy Lo King-fai and Mr Yeung Ming-tai. The nine additional members are Mr Romeo Au Pak-ching, Mr Ivan Chan Chi-wing, Mr Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung, Dr Sammy Chan Yin-nin, Ms Alice Chow Kin-tak, Ms Pearl Lam Po-ling, Mr Law Chi-yuen, Mr Soo Kwok-leung and Ms Cleresa Wong Pie-yue. The appointments have taken effect and will last until work on all the appeal applications has been completed.
The composition of the FCAB is as follows:
Chairmen
Mrs Peggy Cheung Po-yee
Mr Johnny Fee Chung-ming
Ms Tennessy Hui Mei-sheung
Mr Andrew Mak Yip-shing
Mr Vincent To Wai-keung
Mr Tommy Lo King-fai
Mr Yeung Ming-tai
Members
Ms Catherine Au Sin-lun
Miss Nancy Chan
Mr Chan Wai-chung
Mr Andrew Chan Weng-yew
Mr Chau How-chen
Professor Chu Ka-hou
Ms Cindi Hui Ming-ming
Mr James Kong Tze-wing
Miss Athena Kung Ching-yee
Professor Joseph Lai Ki-leuk
Mr William Lee Ka-chung
Miss Emba Leung Wun-man
Mr Wilkie Lo Wai-kei
Mr Michael Ngai Ming-tak
Dr Paul Shin Kam-shing
Miss Alice To Kar-wing
Dr Anthony Tyen Kan-hee
Miss Barbara Wong
Miss Wendy Wong Shuk-wan
Miss Eunice Yung Hoi-yan
Mr Romeo Au Pak-ching
Mr Ivan Chan Chi-wing
Mr Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung
Dr Sammy Chan Yin-nin
Ms Alice Chow Kin-tak
Ms Pearl Lam Po-ling
Mr Law Chi-yuen
Mr Soo Kwok-leung
Ms Cleresa Wong Pie-yue
The ban on trawling in Hong Kong waters, under statute, came into operation on December 31, 2012. Under a one-off assistance package approved by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee on June 10, 2011, an EGA is payable to eligible trawler owners affected by the trawl ban, and a one-off grant is payable to each eligible local deckhand employed by affected inshore trawler owners who voluntarily surrender their vessels under a buyout scheme offered by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department or dispose of their vessels through other means.
An Inter-departmental Working Group (IWG) was set up by the Government to handle matters relating to applications received from parties affected by the trawl ban. The IWG has largely completed its processing of the EGA applications and informed the applicants of its decisions. Some successful applicants have already collected EGA payments. Applicants who are not satisfied with the decisions of the IWG may lodge appeals to the FCAB, which is a non-statutory body formed on an administrative basis for handling the relevant appeal cases. The secretariat of the FCAB is located at the Food and Health Bureau, 19/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong.
The terms of reference of the FCAB are as follows:
With reference to the EGA and a one-off grant under the one-off assistance package approved by the Finance Committee on June 10, 2011:
* To see that the criteria established by the IWG for processing and/or vetting applications for the EGA comply with government policy, and are fair and reasonable (in the public law sense) to the applicants.
* To see that the IWG's decisions on eligibility and the amount of EGA granted comply with government policy and are fair and reasonable (in the public law sense) to the applicants.
* To examine any new or additional information/evidence provided by the appellants (or their representatives) who have lodged an appeal against the IWG's decisions or by the relevant departments, and to consider the relevance of and the weight to be given to such information/evidence.
* To consider whether to uphold the IWG's decisions on the appellants' cases or to revise the decisions, and to determine the type and amount of EGA payable to the appellants, as appropriate.
Ends/Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:43
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